Tennis teams join women’s basketball in the top 10 nationally

Baylor women’s basketball deservedly grabbed the headlines last week after reaching No. 1 in both national polls, but head coach Kim Mulkey’s squad wasn’t the only BU team to receive a top-10 national ranking last week.

Baylor women’s tennis earned the highest preseason ranking in program history, coming in at No. 3 in the first Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) ranking of 2011. The recognition comes despite the Lady Bears having graduated two all-Americans off last year’s team which finished 30-3 and reached the Elite Eight before falling to eventual national champion Stanford. Baylor and head coach Joey Scrivano (left) will look to claim its seventh straight Big 12 Conference regular season title this spring.

Not far behind the women, Baylor men’s tennis sits at No. 7 in the initial 2011 ITA rankings — the ninth straight season that the men and head coach Matt Knoll (right) have begun the year among the top 10. The Bears once again face a tough schedule, with matches scheduled this spring against seven of the other nine teams in the preseason top 10.